Lionel Messi “still loves” Hong Kong and China, and the world’s best footballer may return to the region “in the near future”, according to a successful entrepreneur with close ties to Asia and the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
Honored this year for his sports marketing agency’s “outstanding contribution to UK-China relations through promoting sports in China”, Michael Rocha-Keys launched EMW Global in 2018 to bridge the sports gap that existed between east and west.
EMW, which stands for East Meets West, has a “commercial advisory role” with the AFA for this summer’s World Cup, where Argentina’s Messi is set to play in his sixth final.
After sitting on the bench when Inter Miami played a match organized by Tatler Asia in Hong Kong in February 2024, Messi’s popularity level in the city dropped.
“What happened was very sad and controversial, but I think time heals all,” Rocha-Keys told the South China Morning Post. “He still loves the area, he still loves going there and, eventually, he will come back, but, hopefully, in a more organized way.”
After Messi’s absence, Chinese officials canceled matches scheduled for world champions Argentina in Hangzhou and Beijing the following month.
